Display-rack.



A. E. mum;

DISPLAY RACK.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2|. I914.

PatntedJuly 30,1918.

which the parallel article carrying rods are normally parallel with the front or rear walls of the case and are snugly received between the side walls with a slight clearance between them, and when in the outward position the rack is readily rotatable to display and make accessible the articles upon the rear. It is another object of this invention to so mount the rack that during bodily movement rotation of the article carrying means suflicient to cause it to strike the rear wall of the case is checked and fouling avoided when a force of normally suflicient strength to move the rack bodily is applied at its outer boundary, said force and checking means causing the rack to move bodily until the end of outertravel is reached at which point it may be rotated and retained against inward movement until it is returned manually or automatically to the normal positions. A further object of this invention is to so mount the rack that upon'a partial rotation during the bodily movement or between certain points at the outer end of travel it will automatically be'returned'to the normal positions, the automatic returning means being rendered ineffective during rotation beyond these points. It is a still fur h r object of this invention to so arrange the parts that when the rack is at the outer end of its travel means are provided so that a slight effort to rotate the rack through a partial revolution is only necessary to cause it to automatically continue its rotation thereby reversing the position of the rods from front to rear, maintaining it at that position and thus present the rear articles thereon to the customers. This automatic reversal of the normal position is a great convenience to the salesman and its automatic return or reversal after a slight rotation. places it always in position to be moved bodily within the case without hindrance.

A still further object of this invention is to arrange thisconstruction so that the rack is bodily movable during the exertion of a slight continuous effort without rotation in the direction of travel upon any part of the rack, and if a sudden or mischievous jerk is given in pullingthe rack outward instead of causing the rack to strike the rear wall ofthe case the rack will yield and right itself during the advance in the direction of the jerk.

F igure 1- is an enlarged top plan view illustrating the rack mechanism. Fig. 2 is a view in transverse vertical section taken on the line 5-5, Fig. 1.

Fig: 3'is top plan view'ofa modified form of rack returning mechanism in detail.

-As previously stated the particular form or construction of that part of the rack for carrying the articles forms no part of this invention and can beofany desired form or construction mounted upon a:rotatable momher as this invention relates to the mecha nism by which the rack is operated to accomplish the results above set forth.

Referring to the drawing, the rack (not shown) is supported by a shaft 2, rotatably mounted upon a carriage 8, capable of limited transverse bodily movement within the case 4, so that the rack may be bodily moved within the case.

Guides 5 for the carriage are secured to the casing beneath the floor. The sides of the carriage and the adjacent guides are provided with complementary angular grooves, forming a race way for ball-bearings (3, sup porting the carriage, as shown in patent numbered 991,164, greatly reducing friction during its travel as well as overcoming binding caused by an uneven weight or force exerted upon the rack. Stops are provided to limit the movement of the carriage at each end ofv the guides. The lower end of the rack supporting shaft is rotatably mounted in any desired manner upon the carriage and is provided with a positioning member 7, secured thereto adjacent the carriage and beneath the casing floor. The periphery of the positioning member, when in the form of a disk as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, is provided with oppositely disposed complementary angular or curved cut out'portions 8, entering within the normal circumference of the disk.

A pressure memberis yieldingly mounted upon the carriage to normally lie within the angular or curved portions of the disk, and adapted to exert force or active inward pres sure against the periphery of the positioning member, and coact with the angular or curved portions thereof, to checkthe rotation of the shaft, when an external rotative force is applied thereto and to return or reverse the shaft to normal position upon the removal of said force.

The positioning member 7 is shown on Fig. 1 as being in the form of a disk with the oppositely disposed angular portions 8 arranged with the adjacent reentrant sides converging toward each other to form in eifecta deep notch. The pressure member comprises a pressure roller 9, mounted upon an'arm 10, pivoted atone end to the car-,

riage, with its free end connected to a spring 11, secured to the carriage, whereby the roller at all times exerts an active pres sure upon the positioning member. A partial rotationof the shaft will cause the roller to bemoved outwardly against the tension position upon the removal of any force sufficient to cause a partial rotatiomand when the applied force is great' enough to cause the roller to ride beyondthe angular por-- tion, and to be engaged by the circular circumference of the positioning membeIy-as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the auto matic self-positioning action is rendered ineffective until the roller has traveled beyond the circular circumference to the next angular portion, and then the rotation is automatically'continued until the shaft and rack have been reversed.

The positioning member and pressure member may be of any other form which will accomplish the same result.

Fig. 3 illustrates a form of positioning member 7 in which there is no dwell; opposite sides are cut out on a curve-concentric with the pressure roller 9 to engage the roller in normal position with the forward side extending in a straight line at a tangent to this curve from the point of engagement and the opposite side fromthe point of engagement continuously curved away therefrom.

'I'n reversing the rack in the outermost position, in this form, the operator normally takes hold of the right side "and therefore because of the short tangent of this form.

only a short rotative movement is necessary to cause the pressure roller to passthereoutermost position and the rotative "force be exerted in an outer direction, upon its removal after a partial rotation, the rack will be automatically returned to its normal position; but in the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 3, if the force be exerted long enough to cause a rotation of the positioning member, so that the outermost points of its periphery pass the pressure member, the rotation will be automatically continued and the rack reversed.

In order to provide means for avoiding rearward movement of the rack when in its outermost position and when not normally parallel with the case, and in order toprovide additional safe guards and make the construction-more fool proof when operated by an-inexperienced operator or salesman, a means for restraining the movement of the pressure member away from the positioning member is provided, the same decreasing in eifect as the carriagemoves out- The,

ward and so constructed as to allowat the outermost position of 7 the carriage the pres-c sure member to ride over the outermost points of the periphery of-th'e positioning member and When so doin'gfto-prevent-the rearward movement of the carriage;

When rotated in its forwardposition itis often desirable to display the goods when the rack is in an angular position in relationfto the case, the normal force is neutralized by V point between the innermost position of the pressure member and the-rear Wallofthe case and at the forward end preferably'secured by a pin and slot connection to a por' tion ;of the" guide or forward wall otthe case. The spring is' laterally inclined and then extendedat the outer en doftheitravel of the pressure member to follow adjacent its path during reversal of the rack. The inclined portion of the spring acts-as a'stationary abutment upon an "attempted inward movement of'the rack when the pressure roller is pressed outward durin'ga rotation of the rack in its outermost position.

The relations of the'restrainng member, pressure member and"pos1t1o ning member always possible during the bod-i ly travel.

The normalfpressu're .e'xerted'iby' 'the'fp'res:

are-such thataslight' rotation of "the" rack is sure member upon thepositioningmeniber is sutlicient to prevent -rotation"of th'e shaft upon a continuous pull or pushon any part of the rack in elther inward'or-outwarddirection and a partial rotation during the travel produced by a jerk will cause the. pressure member to engage the restraining.

member and in such case the amount of rotation will be checkedso that in no position during the travel can any portion of the rackstrike the rear wall of the case'but on the other hand the jerk having occasioned a slight rotation the resilient restrain will cause the pressure member to coact with the angular or curved portion of the positioning member to move the carriage in the direc tion of the erk. The restralnlng'm'ember' is of suflicient strength to prevent the pressure member from riding beyond the angular or curved position of" the positioning member at any otherypoint except when in the outermost position of the rack. The r Y amount of restraint uponthe pressure mem-' berdecreases during outward movement of the carriage because as the rack approaches its outermost position the amount of rotation Without fouling the rear Wall of the case increases. 7

From the above description it is readily seen that the main purpose of this invention is to provide ease of operation, minimum of resistance and maximum of convenienee in handling Without having recourse to rigid construction necessarily requiring complication of parts to produce the same result. While the preferred forms of this invention are illustrated and described, yet it is to be understood that detail changes may be made Without departing from the scope thereof, and that the relative proportions of the parts may be changed Without limiting the scope of the invention as claimed, or its useful application in other directions.

that I claim is:

1. In a display rack, a case, a carriage reciprocatable therein, a rotatable shaft thereon normally supporting article carrying arms parallel to the sides of the case, a positioning member upon the shaft, an active pressure member upon the carriage, a restraining member adjacent the path of the pressure member adapted to be engaged thereby upona partial rotation of the shaft during travel and spaced apart from the pressure member at the outer end of travel to allow of the rotation of the shaft and provide an abutment for the pressure mem ber against inward movement during such rotation.

2-. In a display rack, a case, a carriage reciprocatable therein, a rotatable shaft thereon normally supporting article carrying arms parallel to the sides of the case, a positioning member upon the shaft, a pressure member upon the carriage coacting With the positioning member to return the shaft to normal position upon a partial rotation and means to reverse the position of the rack from rear to front upon a slight rotation of the rack in its outermost position.

3. In a display rack, a case, a carriage reciprocatable therein, a rotatable shaft thereon normally supporting article carrying arms parallel to the sides of the case, a positioning member upon the shaft, an active pressure member upon the carriage coacting with the positioning member to return the shaft to normal position upon a partial rotation, and a resilient restraining member coacting With the pressure member upon a partial rotation of the shaft during travel to return the shaft to normal and advance the carriage and means to reverse the position of the rack from rear to front upon a slight rotation of the rack in its outermost position.

4. In a display rack, a case, a carriage reciprocatable therein, a rotatable shaft thereon normally supporting article carrying arms parallel to the sides of the case, a positioning member upon the shaft, an active pressure member upon the carriage, a resilient restraining member adjacent the path of the pressure member adapted to be engaged thereby upon a partial rotation of the shaft during travel and spaced apart from the pressure member at the outer end of travel to allow of the rotation of the shaft and provide an abutment for the pressure.

member against inward movement during such rotation and means to reverse the position of the rack from rear to front upon a slight rotation of the rack in its outermost position.

ANDREW MILLER. Witnesses LAVNGDON Moonn, S. E. DAVIS.

Copies of thispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

